Restoration Of Sanity
by changingdestiny40
Summary: Slade is visited by Shado's ghost in an effort to prevent him from following through with his horrific plans for Oliver, trying to break through the haze of the Mirakuru warping his mind in order to show him that he's not honoring her memory this way.


**As we know, Slade in season 2 was being driven not only by the Mirakuru but also by it giving him "visions" of Shado egging him on. This idea randomly came to me, but what if Slade had been visited by Shado's actual ghost, instead of the Shado that the Mirakuru created, and her ghost broke through his insanity and convinced him to cease the crimes he was committing in her name?**

**And so I've decided to use it and hope you will like it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own "Arrow".**

Slade sat comfortably in his chair inside of his office, a glass of scotch in his hand, feeling pleased by the smooth progress of his plans. His associates Sebastian Blood and Isabel Rochev had reported to him that things were running fantastically on their ends, the former having procured more victims for the experiments with the Mirakuru derived from Slade's blood while mass producing the drug, while the latter was already had a controlling stake over Queen Consolidated and was laying the groundwork for a hostile takeover.

Soon Oliver Queen would pay for causing Shado's death and the kid would find himself on his knees begging for death as everything he cared for was stripped from him and his city burned around him. It's just as Slade told Oliver all of those years ago. He always kept his promises.

Suddenly a circular beam of light materialized in front of him and after withdrawing, revealed a stunning, dark haired Oriental woman, one all too familiar with Slade.

"Shado?", he rasped out in awe, stunned to see her before him while instinctively feeling that there was something different about this compared to the previous manifestations that had been visiting him these past few months.

"Yes Slade, it's me, the real me and the woman you profess to love. Not the versions of me you've been seeing due to the influence of the Mirakuru flowing through your veins."

Slade choked back a sob, his eyes wet with tears, and he reached out his hand and gently stoked Shado's face, to which the latter responded with a warm smile, tilting her head and allowing him to cup her cheek. He then moved his hand upwards and ran his fingers through her raven locks.

"I never thought I'd see you again. Seeing your body broke something inside of me and now you're here again. It feels like a dream", Slade said to her, trying to control his emotions.

"I know Slade, and I'm so sorry. But it's not a dream and I really am here and standing before you", Shado responded with her own tears. "I had to see you though, to speak to you, and to warn you about the current path you are taking, the path the Mirakuru is driving you towards".

Slade looked at her with concern and confusion etched onto his face, wondering what she meant.

"I don't understand. Why do you need to warn me of? Everything I'm doing is for you, to honor you", he responded, to which Shado gazed upon him with a desperate expression, shaking her head.

"No, you're not. In fact you're doing just the opposite. Tormenting Oliver on every side? Trying to destroy all of his loved ones and followers? Wanting to destroy a city and countless innocents? That is not honoring my memory and the Slade I knew, the one I remember, would not stoop so low as to do those horrible things and especially in my name", she replied, trying to get him to see the error of his ways. Slade on the other hand grew angry at her words.

"I AM HONORING YOUR MEMORY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!", he roared at her. "The kid caused your death and did so by choosing Sara over you. You died because of him and he deserves to experience true suffering for it. CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!".

"NO SLADE, YOU'RE WRONG!", Shado screamed back at him. "Oliver did not cause my death and nor is he responsible for it. Ivo is the one who held the gun to mine and Sara's heads and forced Oliver to choose. Oliver instead jumped in front of the gun instead as an effort to save both of our lives but Ivo dismissed it and shot me instead. In fact I strongly suspect that he was going to kill me anyways but wanted to do it in such a way that would make it seem as though Oliver was responsible. Can't you see that?!", she added, pleading with him to understand.

Slade responded by taking a breath, regretting his earlier outburst and grateful that it hadn't driven the woman away. He was still desperate to avenge her by taking it out on the kid, but he wasn't dumb enough to fully dismiss her words since she'd know what happened due to having been her and therefore the details of her own murder.

Pausing to think, he could also see that her words had merit and knew that Ivo was the kind of psycho who'd do what Shado just told him. Plus he couldn't help but suspect that Ivo was going to kill both Shado and Slade considering how enraged he was that the two of them had rescued Sara and Oliver from the madman's clutches.

He also knew somewhere deep inside the recesses of his mind that Oliver would not have deliberately harmed Shado and would've wanted to do everything he could to save her. Ivo on the other hand would've done everything he could to prevent Oliver from doing so.

Suddenly the Mirakuru version of Shado manifested behind him.

"No Slade, you're wrong. Oliver is responsible for my death and don't let this false apparition blind you to the truth", she hissed in his ear. "If he hadn't chosen Sara over me then I wouldn't have died." Suddenly Slade felt his original rage rise once more as the Mirakuru attempted to warp his mind again. Shado however could see what was happening and rushed forward to grasp his shoulders.

"No Slade, that's not true. Oliver is not responsible. Please don't lose yourself to this evil drug", she begged, holding his gaze.

"Yes, he is responsible and don't be deceived my love. You must have your vengeance", Mirakuru Shado insisted while using her own hand to grasp one of his arms.

"No, it's the Mirakuru that's deceiving you, blinding your mind from realizing the truth and poisoning your mind", Shado insisted, to which Mirakuru Shado laughed evilly.

"No. It's her who's the poison and the deceiver whereas it is I who's given you strength", she pressed, then added soothingly, "I'm the one who's helping you achieve your objective, aiding you all of these years. Don't let this imposter take that away from you, from us". Shado still pressed forward, unwilling to completely lose the man she still deeply cared for.

"Everything you're hearing is all wrong Slade. Yes, the Mirakuru has given you tremendous physical strength but it's also costing you your soul. Because of it you've been unable to let go of the past and rebuild your relationship with your son, unable to see the truth and move on, and have allowed your hatred twist you into something unrecognizable. For goodness sake it's caused to slaughter your fellow agents and nearly kill your own son, the young man you were desperate to return home".

"Oh but she's wrong for all of them, including your son, were distractions that were pushing you away from our objective, making you weak", Mirakuru Shado insisted. "Have I not always been there for you, guiding you? Do you really want to throw all of that away?" she demanded, tightening her grip on his arm. Shado then tightened her own hold on his shoulders.

"Listen to me. If you continue in this path then you'll only continue to destroy your soul. Please Slade, please don't lose yourself to this darkness lest the version of you that I loved become lost forever", she continued earnestly, now gently cupping his face in her hands.

Slade was filled with confusion, his mind swirling with emotions as he was unsure which version of Shado he should be listening to. He groaned loudly, trying not to scream with frustration while placing his hands onto his face. He had tried to let go of the island so long ago but it kept being pushed into his mind, unwilling to let him go. Suddenly the real Shado's last few words popped into his head, causing him to look up at her in wonder.

"You, you love me?", he asked her in awe, barely believing his ears considering that she was so enamored with Oliver. Shado smiled gently and warmly at him, and he could see that love he'd desperately yearned for shining in his eyes.

"Yes Slade, I do, and I've always loved you the way you'd hoped. You never said anything however and I was distracted by my developing feelings for Oliver. I only wish you'd had the courage to reveal them to me before it was too late", she said to him, and he knew she was referring to before she'd gotten together with Oliver and also before her death. She then continued.

"However the man you are currently is not the man I fell in love with and seeing you like this breaks my heart. You cannot continue on like this and I need you to return back to the man you once were. If you really care for and love me as you professed then I implore you to let go of this path you're on, to bury your hatred towards Oliver, and to dismantle all of the plans you've created for him and for his city. Oliver did not cause my death. It was Ivo, all of it Ivo, and if you still go ahead with your plans then he will win since this is exactly what he wanted. Don't give him that satisfaction."

Slade listened to every word Shado, the real Shado, was saying to him and hearing her words ripped through his heart. To hear that he was no longer the man she'd fallen in love with filled him with a great sense of sadness and loss as he finally began to realize the high price of his present actions. The Mirakuru was still unwilling to release him and kept trying to bring him back to it.

"No Slade, she's wrong. You can't listen to her she…" Mirakuru Shado tried again when Slade immediately whirled his chair around to face her.

"ENOUGH! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE OF WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY FOR YOU ARE NOT MY DELIVERANCE BUT MY RUIN!", he bellowed. "LEAVE ME AND NEVER RETURN EVER AGAIN", he screamed, forcing the Mirakuru manifestation to growl angrily at him and then vanish. He knew however that it wasn't over and that this drug could still rear its ugly head from the deepest recesses of his mind that he'd pushed it back to. Shado sensed his concern and moved to cup the side of his face.

"Don't worry. Oliver is currently working on a cure to completely extract the Mirakuru from the body. I promise I'm not making this up and once it's ready you can administer it into your own body and cleanse it of this evil drug's corruptive influence.

Slade's eyes widened at this news, this being the first time he's heard about this. If he had heard about it a few moments ago he would've sent his agents to find and sabotage it but now, after the woman he loved had helped bring him back from the brink of insanity, all he wanted now was to get ahold of it so that he could cure himself. He was afraid however that Oliver would turn his back on him if he tried or worse, attempt to kill him, not that he'd blame the kid.

Shado, as always, knew him better than anyone else except for, perhaps, his son and Oliver and moved to reassure him.

"You don't have to be afraid. All you have to do is go see Oliver, express remorse and repentance for all of the things you've done and were planning on doing, humble yourself, and beg for his forgiveness. I'm sure everything will work out but you have to give the effort to do so".

Slade suddenly began sobbing, tears streaming down his face, and Shado quickly moved to wrap him tightly in her arms, comforting him.

"I'm so sorry Shado, I'm so sorry" Slade said to her over and over again. Tears streaming down his face.

"It's alright, it's alright. I forgive you and am just so relieved that you've recovered your sanity and become the man you once were" she replied soothingly while continuously rubbing circles around his back. After some time they finally extracted themselves from each other but held each other close.

"I miss you Shado. You have no idea how much I miss you", Slade sobbed, looking at her with adoration and love.

"I miss you to, but know that I'll always be with you. Always", she reassured him and then leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss which he savored before pulling away from him.

"I have to go now, but remember all that I've told you and if you wish to honor me, please do so by keeping your memory of me alive in your mind and please also make amends with your son. Give him back the father he so desperately craves for".

"I will, Shado, I promise", he replied. She responded with a bright smile with him and then after reaching out her hand to strike his face again, she disappeared in a flash of light.

Following all of this, Slade moved to undo the damage he'd been causing. He contacted both Blood and Isabel and ordered them to cease all of their operations while making it clear to the former, in no uncertain terms, that he wouldn't be providing him with anymore Mirakuru. However they refused to do so, feeling that he'd betrayed them, and decided to escalate their own plans for the city. This left Slade with no choice but to anonymously report them to the F.B.I. and they were dragged away in handcuffs while screaming bloody murder and vowing their revenge on him.

He also went to see Oliver and the other man, while wary, allowed him to say what he had to while being highly surprised that Shado was the one to talk some sense into his former friend. Apparently she was still continuing to look out for them both even in death. Oliver also knew that he couldn't let this opportunity to go to waste and told Slade that he'd administer the Mirakuru cure to him as soon as it was ready, which the latter was tremendously grateful for. He was very surprised that Isabel had been working for Slade all along but was glad she'd no longer be a problem.

Oliver wasn't one to leave things to chance however and, with Slade's agreement and following the cure's availability, had him locked up under heavy guard inside of A.R.G.U.S. while Diggle, Roy, Sara, and Lyla stood by along with a small contingent of agents as he injected him with the cure. Immediately Slade felt all of the rage and everything else completely leave him, his sanity fully restored and his mind whole. He suddenly was filled with horror over his plans and pleaded for Oliver's forgiveness.

It was a bit hard for him to do so but he did so anyway, understanding that Slade hadn't been himself and also, thankfully, had not begun the final phase of his plans before being given the cure.

Oliver also gave it to Roy, who also had Mirakuru inside of him, and Slade apologized to him as well for his actions that led to it while Roy also forgave him.

Slade would go on to spend some time with both Oliver and Sara, catching up with them both while also using the passing months to rebuild his friendship with Oliver. Afterwards Slade, after parting with them both on good terms and wishing them well in their romantic relationship, returned to Australia and worked to make amends with his son Joe. At first Joe was resistant but would eventually come around. He also helped him find his brother and Slade's other son Grant, and the 3 of them, with Slade's ex-wife, worked on rebuilding what they'd lost and becoming a family once again.

And so everything turned out well and Slade would always be relieved and grateful that Shado had come to save him at his darkest moment in his life before it was too late.

**The End**

**A/N The reason I had Shado return Slade's feelings and reveal that she'd always been in love with him was to give him some happiness and also some closure over his relationship with her. It also makes sense to me that Shado might've been in love with him all along but was distracted by Oliver. Maybe if Oliver had never been shipwrecked or if Sara was with him, things might've been different.**

**As for Sebastian and Isabel, I don't think they would've dismantled their plans if Slade had ordered them to do so. They just seem like the kind of people who'd still want to realize them no matter what.**

**Please let me know what you thought of this if you'd like.**

**Have a blessed day.**


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